A new stage in the conflict in Ukraine is unfolding after reports that North Korean drone operators are already on Russian territory, and this means that North Korea is no longer a mere ammunition provider and infantry force provider but has become actively involved in the Russian aerial offensive. The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine says a new batch of North Koreans consists of 400 drone operators and 1,000 engineers and deminers in addition to the 8,500 soldiers already in Russia, most of them based in the Kursk region, according to Kyiv’s assessment. In this context, it is important to note that both capitals emphasize the strength of the relationship between them in public. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his North Korean counterpart that both countries are striving to build a “new and righteous world order.”
What Ukraine says: troop numbers, roles and capabilities
For quite some time now, the Ukrainian authorities have warned about the fact that North Korea’s contribution would not be limited to artillery shells and ballistic missiles. Yet, this latest intelligence report reveals a new and more dangerous trend in the form of the deployment of a drone unit among the ranks of the North Koreans making waves in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As per the statement made by an official from Ukraine’s intelligence department, the unit will carry out reconnaissance as well as strike missions targeting Ukrainian objectives from the air, following the previous warnings issued by the same source according to which attack drones piloted by North Korean personnel have been used in Ukraine since October 2025.
This is a clear indication that along with the equipment, Pyongyang has decided to send its personnel to operate, maintain, and perhaps train the Russians in operating their systems. The picture is even more worrying when it comes to overall personnel. Kyiv believes that at least 25,000 North Korean soldiers have been either deployed or have passed through Russia’s operation in Ukraine since the first wave of North Koreans appeared in October 2024 following the Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk province. Out of the 8,500 men currently deployed, 1,000 are believed to be engineers and deminers – a specialty indicating how seriously Moscow takes minefield clearance and establishment of defensive structures.
Ukraine also warns that the current deployments may be only the beginning. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said North Korea is preparing to send as many as 50,000 fresh troops to support Russia’s military campaign, a figure linked to expectations around a planned Putin–Kim meeting in September 2026. While Pyongyang has pushed back on some of these estimates — with Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, dismissing claims of tens of thousands of additional troops as a “groundless self‑fabricated scenario” — the trajectory is clear: North Korea is positioning itself as a long-term partner in Russia’s war economy and battlefield strategy.
Missiles, crews and the deepening hardware pipeline
In addition to the drone operators, intelligence sources from Ukraine also reveal the emergence of a corresponding escalation in the delivery of missiles and the deployment of North Korean missile crews. Up to August 2025, North Korea has already provided at least 150 KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles intended for strikes on Ukraine, with another 120 KN-23 being promised and 40 of them delivered thus far, according to Ukrainian estimates. In August 2026, the government in Kyiv reported the delivery of KN-30 (Hwasong-11C) ballistic missiles to Russia by North Korea.
To date, Russia is said to possess an estimated fleet of around 50 North Korean ballistic missiles (KN-23, KN-24, and KN-30), along with an estimated 50 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles made in Russia. However, perhaps even more importantly, there is confirmation of the deployment of North Korean personnel capable of operating such weapons. Ukrainian intelligence claims the dispatch of a North Korean missile crew consisting of around 90 personnel to Voronezh Oblast to work on up to six launchers, which may well signify the first time that the fact of the deployment of North Korean operators in Russia’s strike formations has been openly recognized.
Technology for troops: the quid pro quo
North Korea’s involvement is not altruistic; it is a calculated exchange of manpower and munitions for technology, cash, and combat experience. In return for its support, Pyongyang has reportedly requested Russia’s advanced S‑400 air‑defence system and has already received a Pantsir‑S1 surface‑to‑air launcher, according to Ukrainian intelligence. South Korean and other analysts estimate that Russia paid North Korea around $14.4 billion between August 2023 and the end of 2025, alongside technology transfers in air defence, satellites, drones, and early‑warning aircraft. These transfers are critical for a regime that has long sought to modernize its military under the shadow of international sanctions.
The relationship is explicitly framed by both sides as a strategic counterweight to Western influence. President Vladimir Putin has said cooperation will continue “in all sectors,” while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised ties that have
“carried forward the history of common struggle for justice and against imperialism.”
Lavrov’s remark about a “new and righteous world order” reinforces this narrative, presenting the alliance as a moral and geopolitical alternative to the U.S.-led system. For Pyongyang, the war in Ukraine offers a rare opportunity to test its weapons, refine its tactics, and gain access to technologies that would otherwise be out of reach.
Casualties, tactics and the learning curve
The human cost for North Korea is already visible. Ukrainian and allied estimates suggest that between 10,000 and 16,000 North Korean soldiers have fought in Kursk, with around 2,288 reported killed, according to some intelligence assessments cited in open sources. Early deployments reportedly involved high-casualty “suicidal” tactics, with troops rushing Ukrainian positions en masse. Wounded returnees then helped train others in drone warfare, electronic warfare, and modern artillery tactics, turning the Ukrainian front into a live training ground for Pyongyang’s military.
This learning curve is central to understanding North Korea’s long-term strategy. By embedding its soldiers and operators alongside Russian forces, Pyongyang is not only supporting Moscow but also accelerating its own military modernization. The experience gained in Ukraine — from operating under electronic warfare conditions to coordinating drone strikes and artillery barrages — is likely to be fed back into North Korea’s doctrine, potentially making its forces more formidable in any future conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
International reactions and strategic implications
The tightening ties between Russia and North Korea have spooked NATO and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, who see the merger of the European and Asian theatres of security as a threat to the rules-based international order. Commentators characterize the relationship between the two countries as an opportunistic alliance between authoritarian regimes, sharing a goal of making
“force the source of law and imposing their own rules through force.”
North Korean personnel engaged in operating drones and missiles based in Russia complicates air defence for Ukraine and its allies, especially with the Ukrainian military lacking interceptors such as Patriot systems. The West faces a two-pronged challenge.
First, the alliance frustrates the effort of sanctions against both Moscow and Pyongyang and makes of Russia–North Korea ties a sanctions-busting pipeline that provides fuel for Russia’s military aggression and upgrades North Korea’s military. Second, it sets a precedent for the expansion of military cooperation of other authoritarian powers – particularly Iran and possibly China – with Russia and further weakens collective security mechanisms. As one commentator put it, the war in Ukraine becomes “a laboratory for authoritarian military cooperation,” with implications extending beyond the war itself.
The road ahead: September summit and beyond
But all eyes are now on the Putin-Kim summit planned for September 2026, which might seal the next phase of this partnership. Even while dismissing Ukrainian allegations of tens of thousands more troops as fabrication, the summit will likely produce new arrangements on everything from troop rotations, technological transfers, or munitions manufacturing. For Ukraine, however, it means another step in its struggle against an enemy that is gaining ground every day through the presence of each North Korean drone operator or missile crew in Russia. For the rest of the world, the question becomes whether diplomacy and sanctions will be able to hinder this alliance from becoming only stronger — or whether the world will have to face the prospect of multipolarity, where alliances of authoritarians will become even more prominent. Meanwhile, the slogan underpinning this alliance – Lavrov’s “new and righteous world order” – serves as a powerful reminder that the war in Ukraine is no longer a purely regional issue. It is a test of a new kind of great power competition, where the threat of North Korea’s drones, missiles, and troops is no longer something far away, but a reality in action during the war that is changing the world order.
